Jump to content

LATEST NEWS

    Help Us Prevent Cable Company F..kery
    Erik
    By Erik,
    For the next 24 days we will be running a count down timer on all our pages to show you when the most important vote the FCC will ever make is made. If you haven't heard yet, the cable giants want to charge customers who stream movies, videos, play games, video chat, (basically everything the internet is great at) for faster speeds thereby undermining everything the internet stands for. This means not only do you pay for the speed of service you want at home but you will then have the choice of class of service which will cost more money.   We need you to get involved.   Click the link on the clock and fill out simple information like your name and the app will automatically send your elected officials an email on your behalf. You can read the letter or decide to contact them on your own, but this is something that we can't lose. If we do lose what we know as the open and free internet today will be forever changed. Don't let big business win!   Fight with us to defend net neutrality and all it stands for. If you need to know more watch this video and then click the link in the clock above.   Do it today we're counting on each of you.  

    Developer Interview: Into the Stars
    Skyviper
    By Skyviper,
    CombatACE Developer Interview: Into the Stars   Generally aiding and abetting is a crime; however, in this case CombatACE is willing help out a few recent escape artists. No they didn’t escape from a federal prison; however, they did escape from traditional game development. A new company Fugitive Games is comprised of a few good men that have backgrounds with DICE, CAPCOM, and SCEA. They’ve worked on games such as Battlefield, Medal of Honor, MAG, Shadows of the Damned, and Lost Planet.   So what does this have to with CombatACE? Several weeks ago a video was posted featuring their new game Into the Stars. Many of you seemed interested in it and I thought you might like to hear more about the game from one of the developers. One, Mr. Ben Jones a Co-Founder to be a exact, has taken the time to chat with us about their new game.   Thank you, Mr. Jones, for taking the time to do this interview. To begin could you tell us, what inspired you and your team to break free from the big gaming companies and start making your game? Getting a game greenlit at one of the bigger publishers is extremely difficult, but we all have ton of fun ideas that should be enjoyable, even if they aren’t destined to be $100mm blockbusters. By breaking away and forming our own team we are free to pursue these types of games and we simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do so. What do you enjoy most about creating games (now that you’re free from the chains and shackles of traditional gaming)? For me it’s the process and seeing your ideas move from paper to reality. When the game comes together around Alpha and you’ve got all the puzzle pieces in place, that’s when things are truly exciting. That and putting the game in a strangers hands for the first time and seeing how they react are my favorite aspects of development.   What inspired the creation of Into the Stars? Several of us wanted to make an Oregon Trail type game and our Project Architect Marc really wanted to try that out in space. Once our Art Director got the 3rd person / Captain’s Chair functionality rolling we knew we were on to something. The space genre has had a lot of influence on us over the years, so it’s nice to be working in that universe.   How long has Into the Stars been in development and what are some the challenges your team overcame and still face today? Development has been staggered as we rolled on at different times, but less than a year in total. How will your game stand out from other space action games? We feel the game sets itself apart by focusing on the Captain experience. Giving you that perspective and control is really powerful, and it’s going to be exciting to see how each new Captain approaches the journey. Our star system is also quite dense as we’ve taken an action-oriented approach to world building. We don’t want you flying for hours on end twiddling your thumbs… there should be something around every corner to keep you engaged!   Your development team has experience with a lot of popular games. Not only that your game’s music is composed by Jack Wall. So with all these wonderful backgrounds meshing together, what can players expect from your game? What are some the features that will draw them in and keep them playing? First and foremost they can expect a polished, highly replayable experience. We’re very focused on the core game and want to deliver a game that’s fun in both short burst and long play sessions. What I think will keep people coming back is the difficulty of the journey, the number of options presented the player and the simple joy of flying through a star system packed with life and opportunity.   What is the story you wish to tell through your game? We want each Captain to write their own story. The game provides a beginning and an end, but what happens in between is completely up to you. Will you reach your ultimate destination and what will remain of your ship, crew and civilians when you get there? Each step of the journey will have an impact and play a part of your unique experience.   Will players be able to mod Into the Stars? If so will Fugitive Games have limits on what can and cannot be modified? We’re focused on delivering the game at the moment, but having come from the mod scene I would love to see support for that community down the road. There were some amazing mods for FTL and we imagine they could take things in a direction we never thought possible.                                                                                 Do you have anything you would like to tell your supporters? We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received, especially because it gives us the ability to build the game to a high degree of quality, which is ultimately what everyone deserves.   Once again Mr. Jones thank you so much for taking the time to answer all of these questions   For those you interested in learning more about the company and thier title you're more than welcome to visit the link below for more information.  

    Il-2 '46 - North Africa!
    33LIMA
    By 33LIMA,
    Another great Luftwaffe fighter pilot campaign from FlatSpinMan!     Having thoroughly enjoyed his Defence of the Reich campaign, I was keen to try out another of FlatSpinMan's German campaigns and picked this one, for a change of scenery - and climate! No more footering about over the cold waters of the North Sea for me, it's 'Off to Darkest Africa', as the song goes. This campaign is a sort of a prequel, featuring the same Luftwaffe fighter pilot, Willi Jedermann, as the Reichs Defence campaign. This is available from Mission4Today, which site is unfortunately down at the time of writing, so I can't post a link. Edit, 5 Feb '15 - Mission4today, the ultimate Il-2 resource, is back up and you can get FlatspinMan's campaigns here.   The campaign's first mission is a transit flight, simulating the arrival in force of the Luftwaffe, as part of the Deutsches Afrika Korps' 1941 deployment to prop up the Italian forces, after the latter's disastrous defeat at the hands of the British forces based in Egypt. Although there's no action, this mission is a nice scene-setter, featuting an air start with the player's Bf 109E-7, still in European theatre camouflage and carrying long-range tank, slipping in from the Mediterranean amidst a veritable horde of incoming German aircraft.     The scene at the airbase I was bound for was equally impressive, with the field positively awash with German aircraft of all types!     Apparently, our Willi has been posted to JG 27, which if course is the Luftwaffe fighter wing most closely associated with the war in the desert. However, before he can join his unit, Willi is scrambled at the head of a flight of three other pilots in transit, to intercept an incoming force of RAF bombers which is evidently hoping to smash up the tempting target presented by so much Luftwaffe aircraft and matériel sitting at this staging airfield.   The plane I ferried in wasn't available so I was allocated been given another machine, 'Yellow 5'. Like my last mount, this still in Eurpoean camouflage but with a white theatre fuselage band and yellow quick recognition markings in the form of yellow cowling and rudder.     My flight-mates were in similar interim markings, as you can see from 'Yellow 6' and 'Yellow 8'. As with FlatSpinMan's Defence of the Reich campaign, the inclusion of very high-quality 'skins', like these, is a nice feature.       Our brief was to patrol at 2500 meters over the sea, just north of our base, watching out for the raid we're expecting. Once airborne, headed east, I cleaned up my aircraft and climbed out to about 1000 metres, then throttled back, to let my three flight-mates catch up.       Climbing again, this time northwards out to sea, I could sea below and ahead a flight of tan-coloured biplanes, on the same course. Evidently, these were the Italian allies I'd been briefed would also be on this operation. Fiat CR 42s most likely, I thought.     As I watched, the Italians, who had been climbing fairly gently, suddenly pulled up into a much tighter climb.  Had they seen something I hadn't? The answer was 'Yes!'  At least two flights of larger aircraft were coming more or less directly at us, slightly high. This looked like it! I pulled up my nose in an effort at making a head-on pass to begin with, though from the high closing speed I quickly realised I would be just too late.     As the enemy ran in towards us, I saw that they were slim twin-engined bombers, and that a couple of tan-coloured monoplanes - more Italians, most likely - had beaten us to the punch.     I quickly gave the flight the order to attack and pulled up and around as the enemy - Blenhiems, they were - swept past. No sign of a fighter escort, that I could see. Time to get stuck in, before they hit our base, which they would reach in a matter of a very few minutes...unless we could stop them!     ...to be continued!

    Defence of the Reich - the final missions
    33LIMA
    By 33LIMA,
    Concluding FlatSpinMan's Il-2 '46 campaign for the Bf 109!     Having some months back posted reports for the first four missions in this entertaining and highly recommended campaign, I thought it was over-due time to complete the story! The Allied bomber offensive 1942-45 has always been a particular interest of mine and the ability of modded Il-2 '46 to support this - and other 'Western Front' campaigns - transformed my opinions of and interest in this classic sim, which, in its latest forms, is in my opinion still much the best combat flight sim for World War 2...and beyond.   FlatSpinMann's Defence of the Reich campaign is one of several which enable you to pit your virtual life against the might of the USAAF's famous 8th Air Force in its campaign of daylight 'precision bombing'. You're cast as Willi Jedermann, an experienced member of the Jagdflieger whose Bf109's aft fuselage carries the white cross, black disc marking of the Nationalist Spanish Air Force, doubtless denoting time spent with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. The campaign comes with several nicely-rendered variations of the 'skin' for the player's Messerschmitt, the one below being for the 109G-6, to which the player transitions during the missions in this report, having started with the G-2.     Earlier missions had seen our Willi transferred south from JG5 'Eismeer' in the frozen north to join I Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 1 in defence of the Deutsche Bucht or 'German Bight', as they called the area of the North Sea bounded by Schleswig-Hollstein/Denmark to the east and the north German coastline near Bremen and Hamburg, to the south. That Willi is an alter hase, an 'old hare' who has seen it all before and then some, is clear from the mission briefings, which often feature Willi's frank expressions of his views, ranging from his reservations about operating so often over the seas on convoy escort, to his opinions on the latest bright ideas from his superiors.   My fifth mission is a case in point. Willi is being sent aloft to practice air-to-air bombing of enemy bomber formations, prompted by the success achieved by real-life Luftwaffe ace Heinze Knoke (recounted in 'I Flew for the Fuhrer' and quoted in many other books). Willi is fairly scathing about the prospects for this tactic...but orders are orders! Soon, flying as Willi, I'm airborne and headed north, in rather murky weather with a 250Kg bomb slung under my Messerschmitt. I'm rather glad to be on my own. Level bombing in a bombsight-less fighter seems unlikely to go well and, methinks, the fewer of my squadron-mates who witness my efforts with this contraption, the better.     Callling up the inflight map, I checked my bearings. Our base is at Windau, which Goggle tells me is these days called Ventspils and is in Latvia, on the Baltic Sea coast. A stock Il-2 map of this area is topographically not a bad substitute for the German Bight, though.      I have been told that the target on this practice mission has been marked out on some muddy coastal land, in the form of something resembling a plan view of a formation of heavy bombers. I'm to bomb from about a thousand metres, apparently.   On arrival, I first overflew the range, just to get a good look at what they have cooked up for me. It's not too bad a job, I soon find out: a series of large white crosses in a decent representation of an American heavy bomber formation. And there's a large white circle-and-arrow marking on the ground a few hundred meters short of the 'formation'. You can't see it in the screenie below because it's hidden by the junction of those canopy farmes on the left, but it wasn't too hard for me to work out that this marked my suggested bomb release point. It seems the idiots who dreamed up this aerial bombing nonsense have at least been thorough in laying out my practice target.     What they hadn't done so well was explain how I was supposed to aim my bomb, given that on a straight run-in, both the 'formation' and the bomb release mark are hidden under my nose. I suppose they expect an officer of the Luftwaffe to be able to work out such things for himself. So that's what I did. I approached on an offset course and picked out a landmark inland to my right - to my left, there was only the sea - which was level with the aiming mark. Unfortunately landmarks were rather limited in this weather and in this neck of the woods but I picked out a reasonably distinctive point on the edge of a suitably-positioned forest. Nearing the bomb release point on this offset course, I made a sort of 'Z' curve, turning left to get the the aiming mark and the target in line and then back right, back onto the same course as before, but in line with the target somewhere under my nose. Looking to the right, when the aiming mark came level, I let go the bomb and turned right, mildly curious to see what happened next. Below you can see the bomb on its way down, about half an aircraft's length, directly ahead of my spinner.     The results were a good deal better than I expected. The bomb went off just on the leading edge of the 'formation', close enough I thought to have done some damage. Had it been for real, lacking proximity fuses, the trick would have been to get the thing to go off at the same level, the problem being a three-dimensional one.     As I came off the target, I got a bit of a surprise when I saw the shadow of a vic of aircraft flit across theground below and behind. At this point I suddenly remembered that the briefing warned me to watch out for the presence of some boys from a Jagdfliegerschule, who were on some training flights somewhere in the general area. Of course in concentrating on my bombing run I had completely forgotten about them. There were undoubtedly at a much, much higher risk of me flying into them, than bombing them.     Looking around more carefully, I soon spotted the others, off to my right. Three Messerschmitts like my own, they were, also headed south, towards my airfield.     I gave them a wide beth and watched as they dipped down directly towards the runway. For some reason they didn't land, but pulled up short of landing and climbed away. Drat! Now I was going to have to be more careful in making my own approach!     As it happened, these three were not the trainees; or if they were, they were nearing the end of their course, flying operational types. The real trainees were also in the air, flying impressed Czech-built Avia B-534s.     Having flown past my base on my right to keep my distance from the other 109s, I gradually let down to about 300 meters. I looked around again for the others and seeing nothing, turned right onto my base leg. The skies remained murky but clear of aircraft and it wasn't long before I was down. As I completed my roll-out, I heard two other aircraft advising they were going around and the tower acknowledging. So I opened up again and smartly cleared the runway, steering towards the hardstanding in front of the hangers, at the left end of the long grass strip.       I thought to myself, that wasn't too bad, unfortunately...'unfortunately' as only a complete disaster seemed likely to offer any hope of the next step in the process being cancelled. That next step, I felt sure, would be to put the training into practice, on operations.   I was right.   To be continued...!

    The First Air Force One
    Erik
    By Erik,
    A nice look back at the first aircraft with the callsign Air Force One, its history, and its final home. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.        

    Stalingrad Stuka - new style!
    33LIMA
    By 33LIMA,
    Flying the Ju 87 in Il-2: Battle of Stalingrad!     Having flown a Stalingrad Stuka campaign mission in Il-2 '46, it's time to repeat the process, this time in the new sim devoted to the famous battle. My first time playing through the BoS Single Player campaign, I've been sticking to flying the Yak-1, in an approximation of a conventional pilot career. While BoS doesn't support multiple virtual pilots, each active with a given squadron, you can fly any aircraft you choose on any campaign mission. Rather than 'switching sides' as well as planes in mid-campaign, I decided to start over at the beginning of the first 'chapter' of BoS's Stalingrad campaign, 'Prelude to Counteroffensive'. This BoS allows the player to do, with the option to 'fast forward' to the current campaign 'Chapter', enabling me to resume my Yak career at any time I chose.   The only active German airfield at the start of the campaign is Gumrak, which became one of the two main active airfields within the Stalingrad pocket, after 6th Army was cut off there. Having chosen to fly the Ju 87 from Gumrak, I was offered a choice of mission type and from those available, chose 'Bombing'. As you can see, the other options are 'Ground attack' and 'Ground support'. Apparently the latter is a form of close air support or air cover for ground forces, but I'm not sure what the distinction is between 'Bombing' and 'Ground attack'...especially for a Stuka!     And here's the mission I've been allocated. I am to bomb a supply dump well into Soviet-held territory, across the River Volga to the east of Stalingrad itself. At this stage, I have no other details of the mission.     In the 'Plane setup' screen I reviewed my options. I haven't flown the Stuka much outside of single missions so havent 'unlocked' any skin or equipment options. Perhaps because I've chosen a bombing mission, I don't have the usual choiced of bombload, either. All I can carry is an SC 1000, which from memory is a 2000 pound thin-skinned HE bomb, no use for attacking targets that need any knd of penetration but with excellent blast effects. Just one bomb but a big load for a Stuka!     And here's the full mission briefing screen. At the same time as choosing a bombing mission, I had also picked an air start ('Short' mission duration). I much prefer ground starts but the BoS AI just cannot reliably handle takeoffs in laden Stukas!     As I mentioned in the previous Stuka mission report, most of the time, the AI crack up, shortly after takeoff. The dive bombing single mission that ships with BoS puts the player at the head of a flight of six Stukas and once when I flew it, four out of five AI planes managed to avoid a crash. But that seems to be exceptional, so I'm glad I got a screenshot or two, if only to prove to myself I didn't imagine it!     As I usually do before a mission, I zoomed in on the map at the target area and planned my approach and 'action on the objective'. This being an air start, the mission would begin with my flight at the right altitude and lined up on the last leg to the target area. As for said target, I wasn't quite sure what a 'supply dump' might look like but at least this one was located in a spot which I thought should be easy to identify, even from my planned approach height of 3500 metres...weather permitting, or course. In BoS, thanks to cloud cover, the weather often isn't very permissive of target acquisition from altitude, and the mission brief's weather notes said nothing about this important factor. So I decided that I would fly direct to the target, bombing it straight off my line of approach if I managed to get 'eyes on'. If not, I would overfly the target, turn 180 degrees and try again. If that didn't work, I would descend below the cloudbase and attack from there, likely in a shallow dive.     Plan made! Time to head off the the flight line and get cracking!   ...to be continued!

Portal by DevFuse · Based on IP.Board Portal by IPS


×

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..

  I accept